La Belle Brocante

Success!

The wrinkles have been ironed out, and there are some lovely little bundles of letters in the shop - enjoy!

 

xoxo

 

Satellites

 

The shop is now operating properly and all is well in that particular universe.

 

Lovely packets of 1700s letters will be listed tomorrow.

 

xoxo

 

Hiccups {a curable condition}

I've had the hiccups.

Big Cartel, as I currently have it set up, allows the same item to be sold more than once. 

Okay when I have such an embarrassingly large number of French documents to call upon for backup.

But generally speaking, not such a good idea.

I'm sorting the next bundles of letters and will list them as soon as I've gotten over the hiccups.

The ones above are 1700s-1800s and will be included in the next shop listings.

I've found a wonderful bundle of more personal letters, many written to Chère Thèrèse ... which I will be able to share with you as well.

 

xoxo

 

Love Letters

Love letters to you, from the brocante.

I'm toying with a new shop format ... much as I love Etsy, listings are much easier on Big Cartel, so I'm going to try it out for a bit and see if it's a good fit for a tiny business.

There's a Shop link over there, on the right.

Thoughts?

 

xoxo

 

 

Scene & Société

 

xoxo

 

In Black & White

 

 

I'm working on rubber stamp designs, teeny tiny ones to use in journalling.

I've had polymer stamps made before but these will be laser cut rubber to preserve the fine lines and details.

Most exciting!

 

xoxo

 

Saintly Toes

Her feet are beautiful too.

 

At the End of the Day {giveaway winner}

She survived.

Centuries past.

Decades spent exposed to the elements.

Her ears have been nibbled, plants and snails grew in the dirt inside her head.

Her eyes are perhaps not as clear as they once were.

But the end of the day she is beautiful. Graceful. 

And at peace.

 

Thank you to everyone who played along with our Guessing Game. Congratulations to Margie, whose name was drawn as our winner! Please email your address and your Ephemera parcel will be in the mail shortly.

 

xoxo

 

 

Guessing Game {a satisfying conclusion}

A vintage optician's tool - with the different lenses that are moved up and down until the correct prescription is determined? No, too much metal.

Stained glass window? No.

Puppet or marionette with glass eyes? Nope.

A jack-in-the- box with glass eyes? Cute but no. 

Old horse hair stuffed pull toy with glass eyes? No.

Abstract oil painting using glass eyes? Yikes - no!

Cane or walking stick with animal head and glass eyes? No.

A vintage bakelite fishing lure with glass eyes? Very clever, but no.

Is it a vintage doll head or doll with glass eyes? Getting warmer.

Could it be a carved wood figurine of an animal or person with glass eyes? No wood.

A duck decoy made from cork, plastic or canvas with glass eyes? Also very clever, but no.

Is it a mannequin/head with glass eyes for medical teaching/display? Close. So close.

Human wax head with glass eyes? Yes!

A bee's wax figurine with glass eyes? Yes.

Is it still available today in a new form? Or is strictly vintage? Is it a wax effigy of a famous Saint? Is it a reliquary? YES!

Still my favorite beautiful Santos with glass eyes? YES!!!

 

She is a truly special find, a beeswax (hence the animal classification) bust of a Saint from the 1700s. Pale blue glass eyes. A stunningly beautiful piece that I will now unwrap and photograph, ready to share with you tomorrow.

And why several items rather than one? Unfortunately her hands did not survive the past few centuries, but her feet did. 

Photos and our giveaway winner tomorrow!

 

xoxo

 

 

Almost There {a guessing game update}

No Fabric. No Thread. No Lace. No Ribbon.

 

No Paper. No Books. 

No Metal. 

Also no Fur. No Feathers. No Taxidermy. Though Yes to glass eyes.

So ... optical lenses, opera glasses, microscopes, telescopes, and magnifying glasses are all out of the question.

A well loved doll or bear with glass eyes? No.

Do the glass eyes belong to a vintage Steiff or other manufacturer's cat? No, though a vintage Charlie would be lovely.

A giant glass eye from an optician's window display? I would loooove one of these, but haven't found one for my collection yet.

Pair of glass eyes for teddy bear or taxidermist? No, though I have lots of those, and love them.

Stereoscope card viewer? No.

So ... we are back to glass eyes, but they are not on their own. 

We also have some sort of animal connection or classification, but not an animal part or part of an animal.

Think outside the box. Animal-related but not an animal ...

And we are missing some materials ...

That's enough hints for this morning - next update in the evening!

 

xoxo